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This story is a member-exclusive for Oprah Daily Insiders.
We all have the power to reinvent ourselves—no matter our age. For some, that means a career switch; for others, it’s moving or finding a new partner. Change can be scary; it means facing the unknown and overcoming obstacles, large and small. But as we hope this story from the fall edition of O Quarterly shows you, when it comes to evolving into your fullest self, the effort is worth it.
Carole Hopson
57, Jersey City, New Jersey
The first time I remember being on a plane was when I was 12. My aunt took my cousin and me on Air Jamaica to Montego Bay. The flight attendants were all gorgeous Black women. The pilots, handsome Black men. Everything about flying had a sense of wonder. I was electrified!
The next time I got on an airplane I was 19; by then, flying was less of a special event for most people, but it held so much magic for me. Still, it never occurred to me that I could make it my career. Black women didn’t really start piloting for major airlines until the ’80s. And I hadn’t yet learned about the legendary Bessie Coleman, who, in 1921, became the first Black woman to earn her wings (two years before Amelia Earhart got her international pilot’s license). So I studied journalism in graduate school and went to work in corporate America.
Then, in my late 20s, on my first date with the man who would become my husband, he asked me: “So what’s your real passion?” Out came a desire I’d never said out loud to another soul: “I want to fly an airplane.” On our next date he gave me a gift certificate for flight lessons.
Those lessons were such a high—literally and figuratively! So I signed up for more. I joined the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals to find mentors. But then I became a mom; I chose to quit my job and focus on raising my…